


It Couldn't Have Been Anything Else

by ACuckoo



Category: Karneval
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 08:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3563153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACuckoo/pseuds/ACuckoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A Varuga who feeds on the fears of others," Hirato had said. He warned them, but hiding a fear is difficult, especially one that's as transparent as Gareki's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Couldn't Have Been Anything Else

**Author's Note:**

> I guess I wanted to say that initially Gareki's fear seems very superficial, but stick with it ~_^

"I'll take the stairs."

It was an innocent statement, but everyone stared at me like I was crazy. Why would I take the stairs when there was a perfectly good elevator right here? Why did I want to put in the extra effort to walk when I could easily ride up to the top floor on that goddamn shaky, metal box? Plus, Nai was incredibly excited to ride an elevator; he never had before.

But I told him to have fun and that I would meet him at the top. I made it a game and he was suddenly less concerned as to why I didn't want to ride it. Tsukumo and Yogi could see it though. They didn't press me on the matter as they all piled in the elevator and made their way up.

My walk up to the top floor was a long one, but I purposely walked slowly. I wanted Nai to win our little game. It would make him happy.

I suppose I shouldn't let something like an elevator intimidate me, not on this particular mission. "A varuga who feeds on the fears of others," Hirato had said. And here I was... Showing my fear right to the varuga's face. It wasn't in front of me, but it was in this building and it could certainly sense the fear I had of all these damn elevators.

How pathetic of me.

I tried to shake these fears aside as I climbed the long staircase. I eventually made it to the top where the other three were waiting for me. I couldn't congratulate Nai on his victory though. Not with the varuga staring us down.

She was gorgeous considering she was a devourer of fears. It was even worse because she was staring right at me.

"Don't you have a fun fear?" She said.

"It's not like you'll get me in one these elevators, so don't bother."

I thought I was tough. Sure, there were elevators around, but I would never get in one.

But she just laughed.

"Elevators? Yeah, you're afraid of them, but it's not your deepest fear. It's a silly fear you developed when you saw one for the first time. You've never even been in one. No, I'm talking about your deepest fear, your real fear."

She pointed behind her and then I realized what she meant. My fear... It couldn't have been anything else. Seeing it before me now... No, it couldn't have been anything else at all.

"Nai..."

****

It seemed like Gareki felt no fear. He was admirable and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to show no fear, to be strong and tough, to be someone Nai could look up to.

Even though I had caught onto why he didn't want to go in the elevator, Nai didn't. He hid it so well. I can only wish to be that strong.

In the elevator, Tsukumo and Nai chatted while I thought about the mission. It worried me. If Gareki really feared elevators, then he would be the easiest target. There were so many elevators around here.

But when we met the varuga, we all realized he was hiding a darker fear. Of course he was. Considering where he was from he probably hadn't had many encounters with elevators. Even on Circus' ship we didn't have any elevators. It was a superficial fear, one the varuga couldn't feed off of.

But this one...

Gareki started shaking and he ignored me as I called his name. Eventually he began to scream Nai's name, completely ignoring everyone, even Nai, to run to... Nothing.

He fell to his knees and gathered an invisible something in his arms. A person?

"Is it Nai?" I asked to no one.

"Yogi..." Nai clung to my arm as he watched Gareki hysterically call out his name, holding onto an invisible person. What was Gareki seeing? Anyone could guess, but… That’s all it was. A guess. 

“Gareki, it’s not real!” I called to him. “Gareki! It’s a fake! I don’t know what you’re seeing, but it’s a fake! Nai is right here! He’s next to me!” 

He looked at me, but he didn’t seem to believe me. He looked back and forth between me and the invisible thing in his arms. I had never seen Gareki look so frightened, so terrified. He was pale, his eyes wide, his body shaking… 

“N-Nai….” He whimpered so quietly it was a surprise I could hear him. While I sat there, contemplating his greatest fear, Tsukumo chased after the varuga and eventually disposed of it. I knew she had killed it when Gareki shook his head, realizing what he had seen was just an illusion. He sat there for a moment, taking in everything that had happened before finally acknowledging me and Nai. 

“You’re alright,” he said to Nai, lightly touching his face when we made our way over to him. 

“Of course I’m okay!” 

He hugged Nai and I smiled as he started to get back to his old self, eventually pushing Nai away and standing up. I can only assume that invisible thing he was holding was Nai… A dead Nai. Elevators weren’t his true fear, not by comparison. He would jump into a hundred elevators if it meant Nai would be safe. I can’t imagine how mangled and torn Nai’s body was in his vision… Or perhaps Nai was simply asleep, gone from this world without so much as a last breath. Either would be terrifying to see and considering how close Gareki and Nai were…. 

Well, as long as we’re all around, Gareki won’t have to worry about his greatest fear coming true. 

***

“Why are you doing this to me?” 

Gareki moaned as Nai pulled him closer and closer to the elevator. He wasn’t putting up much of a fight; he had already decided he would get inside the elevator for Nai. For whatever reason, Nai had a fascination with Gareki’s fear of elevators and was determined to help him overcome it. 

“I don’t see why people willingly go inside a little small box that could break down at any moment and you’ll be trapped inside with no one to help you and what if the cables break and the whole thing falls?? You think you’ll survive that?” 

“It’s fun, Gareki! Come on! It’s opening!” 

The wide elevator doors hummed softly as they opened, welcoming Gareki into his own personal hell. It was so small inside. Gareki wanted to turn around and run as far as he could, but Nai wouldn’t let him. Together, hand in hand, they stepped inside and Gareki felt his breath catch in his throat as the doors closed. 

“We’ll go to the top floor.” 

Gareki didn’t watch Nai press buttons. He didn’t look at the other when the elevator started. He simply held a hand to his chest to remind himself to breath and to keep his heart from bursting from his chest while staring straight ahead. It was an odd sensation. It was like they were floating, but not like how they did on the airship. The walls didn’t close on him like he expected them to. It didn’t sound like the cables would break. 

And before he knew it, they reached their destination. 

“Did you like that, Gareki? It was fun!” Nai said, stepping onto the top floor of the bookstore they had found. 

“No. I didn’t. And no. It wasn’t.” 

“But you would do it again?” 

Gareki took one last look back at the elevator before walking deeper in the bookstore, in search of books specifically on the mechanics of elevators.

“Maybe.”


End file.
